Abakaliki – Residents of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi capital, have urged state government to remove mad men from the streets due to the menace they constitute.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the call followed an incident on Wednesday in which a mad man, throwing stones at the early morning traffic, caused a tricycle carrying pupils to run veer off the road and collide with the pedestrian sidewalk.
NAN reports that the early morning traffic was interrupted by the stone throwing mad man, whose activities led to the lone accident along mile 50, Transformer bus stop, Abakaliki road.
On being hit, the tricycle verred off the road and hit the sidewalk causing the occupants injuries.
Mr Isaac Otubo, an eyewitness, told NAN at the scene, that the naked mad man, threw stones at vehicles as he walked in the middle of the road.
He said that the tricycle conveying school pupils was one of the unfortunate victims of the mad man, as the rider was hit, causing it to veer off the road and causing various levels of injuries on the pupils.
Otubo said that such incidents could be avoided, if efforts were made to take them off the streets.
“The Government should take mad people off the streets because they are posing serious danger to motorists, pedestrians and the public at large.”
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He decried the fact that social service officials and security agencies allowed mentally unstable people to roam the streets.
Mr Buckno OJ, another eyewitness, told NAN that the collusion of the tricycle with the pedestrian walkway happened when the mad man threw stones
forcefully and at close distance at the tricycle rider, causing him to run off the road.
“There are lots of mad people in Ebonyi; there was a similar case of a mad man who cut off an old man’s hand with a knife at Ishielu local government area here in Ebonyi.
“How can they be allowed around the city troubling people and causing problems to the public. I suggest they should be collected and taken to rehababilitation centres, to avoid further damages.”
Another resident, Mr Eddy Okogwu urged federal, and state governments, churches and departments of social services, among other stakeholders to work assiduously to remove mad people from the streets of the city as they posed a threat and constitute an eyesore in their nakedness.
“Mad people both male and female constitute an eyesore on our roads; seeing them naked in the public could cause major collusion on busy highways; they should be rehabilitated, “Okogwu said.
Mrs Theresa Igwe suggested that mad people should be relocated to rehabilitation homes, where they could be cared for.
She expressed fears that with their growing numbers, they could do more havoc, if unchecked.
NAN observed that the tricycle number plate Kl 2227 VU was left at the scene of incident on the pedestrian sidewalk. (NA
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